One more way Facebook is making our lives more complicated

I must
be crazy. Facebook annoys the living fire out of me, and yet I still use it on
a daily basis. In fact, I use it several times a day. I usually keep a tab open
on my browser just so that I can see when a notification pops up. Facebook has even made it so that it makes a little "bloop" sound when I get one, just to be certain it has my attention.

But I
hate it at the same time. It robs me of my time, distracts me from the
productive things I should be doing, and frustrates me with its endless updates
and changes. And now, there's one more reason for me to pull my hair out
because of it: another stinking update.

Image: TechCrunch

Have We Not Achieved
Perfection Yet?

Now
don't get me wrong. I know that technology and society are constantly changing
and that, in order to be a part of either, we must be willing to flex with the
tide. Facebook's willingness to address violent and socially irreprehensible
content is a good move.

However,
this latest feature that they're shoving down our throats is just ridiculous.
If you don't know what I'm talking about yet, consider yourself lucky. If you
do, then maybe you can explain to me why they thought it was a grand idea.

The Thread Feature

For as
long as commenting has been an option for Facebook users, we've all been able
to see conversations on a post in real time. Yes, conversations might go off
topic from time to time, but the people in the conversation know what's going
on. As for everyone else, they can just read previous comments to get up to
speed.

So why,
pray tell, do we need the ability to respond to individual comments on an
original post? I see what they're trying to do, but I think this just
complicates things way too much. If the algorithm left the comments in the
order they were posted, it would be a little different. But that's not what
they do.

Instead
of going with the flow, this reply feature ranks the most "valuable" comments
and puts the ones with the most activity or positive feedback at the top. So,
let's say the original post was about something political. Then somebody says
some smarty something about gopher control, just being funny, and then
that comment gets several likes and replies. All of the comments that are
actually related to the original post get knocked down the line. It's insanity,
I tell you!

How are
we supposed to follow a conversation when there's the potential for 10
different conversations happening all on the same post? This is even more time-consuming
and frustrating than simply trying to keep up with the regular news feed.

And don't even get me started on the hassle it's
going to create for mobile users — that's a topic for another day. What I will
say is that we're going to start missing out on the banter that makes Facebook
such an addictive place to stay, all because it's too confusing to keep up with
what's going on anymore. Bad move, Facebook. Bad move, indeed!